nuuuuu, stoooooop
Gender: Female
Location: America
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Joined: Fri Feb 23, 2007 5:16 am
Posts: 5255
Okay, like I promised, my full opinions of the game:
THINGS I LIKED
Simple stuff first - I like the graphics and music. Odoroki's objection theme is one of my favorite of the series, and I like the Cross Examination and Pursued themes a lot, too. Though the Serenade music drove me crazy by the end of case 3. But I also really liked the Kitaki music, and especially the "Magic" theme.
There were also some fabulous animations. My favorites being Takita's bouncing, Kyouya's air guitar (whee~), Baran's surprise, Daian's stroooooking, and of course, the many faces of Kirihito. Though I also have a deep soft spot for Phoenix smiling.
I like Odoroki :D. He pretty much comes out in the game just like I expected he would. Sure, he's a lot like Phoenix. But he's a little more go-get'm, a little more emotional, and I think a little more passionate about law itself. I can imagine him sitting in court, watching Kirihito defend, taking notes, being eager to learn. I think Phoenix was a lot more laid back in that sense (though maybe that's just 'cause he was so useless in 1-1. The Judge was quizzing you on the name of your own client, after all). Where Phoenix just really wanted to help people, I think Odoroki really cares about Law. I don't necessarily like Odoroki better than Phoenix but I liked his youthfulness. And the thought of him in tears is just too cute.
I like Hobohodo. Usually the sidebar, cryptic mentor irritates me (Mia did after a while, that's for sure). But with Phoenix I didn't mind so much. I liked seeing him from a different angle, seeing how the years changed him, and especially how his experiences affected what he passed on to Minuki. Maybe it's just cause 2007 is the year of the battered hero, but I enjoyed speculating about his motives and his new life. (I think my enjoyment of his character was dampened by the Mason system somewhat, but I'll get to that in the DISLIKES). It made it all the more warming when he actually smiled, reminding us it's still the same Phoenix in there.
I like case 1. I think it's my favorite of the four cases, because of the tension. I liked being caught between Phoenix and Kirihito, knowing there was something vicious going on under the surface and being caught in the middle. Plus, Phoenix glaring at me was really intimidating at the time :B.
I like case 2. Creative, bizarre, and just plain fun. Takita was hilarious and I liked how everything came together.
I like case 3, but not as much.
I like case 4, though more as a collection of its characters and themes, and not so much the actual case. I think the "past" case should have been Yuumi's accident, not the death of Tensai (which would have been difficult to try with no body, but still, it's been done!). I don't mind the Mason System itself but there were things in it I didn't like. And though as an anime it would have been really fun to watch, they did take away a lot of the game elements for the third day. You barely present anything. Since you've already figured it all out through the Mason system it was kind of a waste. Dramatically, I liked it. But the gameplay disappeared for a while there XD;;
I like that Odoroki and Minuki are siblings. That's just adorable. And for once they have a living parent! Oh god I hope she doesn't die in the next one, can't ANY anime/game heroes keep their parents alive!?
I like Baran, he amuses me. But the rapestache has to go.
I like grown up Ema better than young Ema.
I like Kyouya. Maybe him being a decent guy wore down the urgency of court, since he was always half on your side, but I didn't mind. I actually kinda liked there being a prosecutor who wasn't a total asshole. His interactions with Odoroki were cute and genuine, and...simple. I liked that they were able to come to an understanding without the hooplah of some of the earlier games (as much as I enjoy a good hooplah). I do wish we could have seen a little more of him and his feelings, though. As powerful as some of the exchanges in 4-4 are (between him and Odoroki and him and his brother) I think they stopped short of him being fleshed out to his full potential.
And I like Kirihito. I loved his look and his attitude, his many expressions, his flipping out, his bizarre relationship to Phoenix. I love his creepy black psycho locks! I LOVE "THE DEVIL!!!!!" But I'm ticked about his lame ass motive. For all they touted Kirihito as being evil, all he managed to do was...NOT kill a defenseless girl for 7 years XD;;;. Gant would'a stabbed her moe moe ass. They gave every indication that he was a cold-hearted killer, and yet...he wasn't really good at it! Which would be really endearing if they played him up more. Though his sprites did a decent job of making me like him despite that XD.
But man...black psycho locks, and the secret was NOT THAT GREAT.
Which I guess is a nice seguay into:
THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE
If I have one BIG complaint about the game, it's that it bit off more than it could chew in terms of being able to express the story through the graphics. For all the drama that 4-1 had, it's weakest point was not being able to see Odoroki's reaction to his mentor of however long turn out to be a killer. As much as I love Odoroki's sprites there really isn't a face he can make that lives up to what you think he ought to be feeling. He doesn't have an upset sprite that isn't comical (granted, Phoenix didn't really have one either until 2-4, but I think Odoroki earned one!).
(Though, if you go to the play notes on Kinoko Kaihatsu, there are some faaaaabulous illustrations from the case that make me a happy Croik).
Same with Kyouya. Despite the awesomeness of the air guitar, he only has 3 serious poses (one of which he only uses once, one only two or three times). It kills some of the mood when he objects to his brother being a murderer with a grin, y'know? Despite being the leads the two of them had some serious limitations to their facial expressions.
There also seemed to be less "crime screenshots" than in the last games. Usually you get at least one of the criminal carrying out the murder, to some degree. But the game seems to have spent so much time with the 3D and the movie sequences that Daian didn't get a single shot anywhere. There's no picture of Kirihito killing Kagerou, or Makoto painting her nails with poison, or even a crime scene photo of Doburoku dead. You don't see most of the crimes like you do in previous cases. There are less screenshots over all.
And no case art. That was a total bummer.
I don't like Phoenix in the Mason System. Even Phoenix back in court seemed a little off to me, though I can't put my finger on exactly why. Maybe because he seemed kind of dismissive of Kyouya as a rookie...? And then afterwards, he didn't seem to care that he'd lost his liscence. Of course, this was a system he was presenting the jury - he couldn't show them if he went home and drunk himself out cold and sat in his boxers for a week or something. But I really liked earlier in the game that Hobohod was just so...bitter about it all, and they don't play on that at all the moment it actually happened. Even in the "present day" sections he was less like he was earlier in the game, and more like the old Phoenix. Maybe Takumi only knows how to write first person one way? XD;; I like Hobohodo much more from an outside perspective.
I didn't like that Edgeworth wasn't mentioned, but I don't think it was a mistake. The story was already overbooked as it was.
And I didn't like that case 4 felt too open. You learned everything you needed to know in the Mason System and then came to court just to watch it play out. Which, it was fun to watch play out. But I wanted to OBJECT! And btw again Kirihito's motivation is lame. He needs a better one. *adds to fic pile*
I don't like that Lamiroir decided not to tell her CHILDREN that she's alive and well. What is it with parents and the "it's not the right time" bullshit? She's their MOTHER. They have a right to know. I'm pretty sure they can both handle it.
Unless there's some reason Lamiroir abandoned Odoroki in the first place. I didn't like that we didn't get to learn anything about his situation. Even if it was so much as whether he was raised by foster parents, or in an orphanage or what have you. I don't mind not learning the whole secrets of Odoroki's motivations, but I just want to know if he even knew his mother before her accident. If his father is dead or missing and she remarried to Zakku...did she dump him somewhere? The Arumajiki are all a little wacked out, but...
OH. And I liked the Minuku system (forgot to mention that earlier!). I especially liked that you didn't have to use it on EVERYONE. It was totally useless against Daian. The other investigation thingies felt too much like games since you only got to do each once, really. By the time Ema explained how to do it you never had to use it again. I'd rather have the luminol and fingerprint powder all the time and use them at will than be lead by the nose once a case.
And...that's a lot of text.
So in short, there was a lot I liked, and a lot that could have been improved. Lessons for GS5, maybe?
Feel free to discuss :D